Automotive News

Subaru versatility results in best sales month in history

Subaru owners in mountain states have long known about the unheralded carmaker’s merits. The original all-wheel drive system was the precursor to many other manufacturers’ all-wheel drive systems. And Subaru has also been at the forefront of the auto industry for car owners who travel with pets. Subaru’s designs and accessories for animals are unmatched. Subaru’s enduring versatility has finally paid off. The automaker reported its July 2013 sales of 35,994 vehicles was the best month in the manufacturer’s history. The record month included best ever July sales for Forester, Outback and Impreza models. The record month of sales was a 43 percent increase over July 2012. The company’s 240,591 sales for 2013 is 27 percent higher than the same

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Furloughed? Hyundai says ‘We’ve got your back’

Within a few hours after the government shutdown, Hyundai Motor America launched a payment deferral program aimed at helping furloughed federal employees. Hyundai will defer all auto loan and lease payments during the shutdown for current Hyundai owners who are furloughed. “We recognize the impact on family budgets that the furlough will drive,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. “Like we did almost four years ago when we launched Hyundai Assurance, this is our way of saying ‘We’ve got your back’ during this uncertain time.” Current Hyundai owners will be provided relief from payments for as long as they are out of work. Furloughed employees who wish to buy a car in October will be offered

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Honda drives save the drive-in theater campaign

Like soda fountains and mom and pop markets, drive-in theaters could be the next symbol of American culture to disappear. The reason, the nearly 375 remaining drive-in theaters in the United States will be required to convert to digital projection by the end of 2013. The cost is $80,000 per theater and that expense would prevent many drive-ins from staying open. But Honda isn’t too keen on letting another symbol of Americana disappear. And to hopefully prevent the loss of the theaters, the carmaker has undertaken The Save The Drive In campaign to preserve the concept that began 80 years ago. Drive-ins date to June 6, 1933 when inventor Richard M Hollingshead, Jr. opened the first location in Pennauken, New

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Kia to offer more Soul with 2014 all-electric edition

The 2014 Kia Soul will be offered early in 2014 as the South Korean manufacturer’s first all-electric vehicle in the United States. The Soul EV, which will be available in selected markets, will be powered exclusively by a battery for gas-free driving and zero emissions. Range and eMPG estimates have not been announced. “Eco-consciousness already comes standard on the all-new Soul with 85-percent of its materials able to be recycled at the end of its lifespan, and the Soul EV will further demonstrate Kia’s engineering capabilities as well as our commitment to producing vehicles with reduced environmental footprints,” said Orth Hedrick, executive director of product planning. Kia Motors was recently ranked by Interbrand as one of the “50 Best Global

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Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan recall 2.3 million cars, vans

Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai combined are recalling 2.3 million cars dating to 2004 and for reasons varying from defective shift levers to faulty sensors to brake light issues. The Toyota recall involves 694,000 Sienna minivans, from the model years of 2004-2005 and 2007-2009, because of the risk of rolling away while parked. The Detroit News reported the minivans have defective shift lever assemblies that could be moved out of park without the foot on the brake pedal. As a result, the minivans could rollaway. Twenty-one minor accidents and two minor injuries have been reported. The Toyota recall covers 615,000 vehicles in the United States, 56,000 in Canada and 23,000 in Mexico. Hyundai is recalling 760,000 vehicles in North America because

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Massive small town Nebraska car auction ready for ignition

The massive Nebraska car auction of vintage barn finds and nearly new cars and trucks that has brought international attention to an abandoned Chevrolet dealership in a small city is about to unfold. The Lambrecht Chevrolet auto auction and its estimated 500 abandoned vehicles, all dating from 1958-1980, has been featured in the New York Times to specialty automotive sites. Finally, after weeks of anticipation, it will all begin Saturday, Aug. 28 at 9:30 a.m. local time in Pierce, Nebraska. The Lambrecht dealearship, a family owned business in community for decades, closed several years ago. Some cars in the dealership were kept indoors, others outside. Online bidding for the cars began weeks ago. But the onsite bidding will start with

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Tesla seeks autonomy (for once) with driverless car

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, doesn’t stay out of the automotive spotlight long. In addition to his innovative, expensive sports cars and a plan to soon drive one across the United States, the controversial entrepreneur is now joining other carmakers with a plan for a Tesla driverless car. Musk said recently Tesla is planning to manufacturer a car capable of running on “auto-pilot” within the next three years. Several other carmakers and Internet monolith Google have announced plans for similar cars. Telsa’s autonomous car, according to Musk, could have 90 of the driving responsibility controlled by the vehicle’s computer system. A completely autonomous car would take longer to develop, Musk told The Financial Times newspaper. Tesla would built the

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Car Review: 2013 Toyota Sienna: Practical, Easy Drive

With all the emphasis on stylish crossover vehicles, some might suspect that the generally dull-by comparison minivan is dead. But the 2013 Toyota Sienna shows some minivans still sell at a brisk pace. That’s because it’s hard to beat a minivan for sheer practicality and family utility. After all, a minivan’s boxy shape provides lots of interior space, and it has carlike manners. The 2013 Sienna is designed, developed and assembled in America. However, it isn’t purely apple-pie American because it is, after all, a Japanese brand. But, with the growing worldwide sharing of vehicle components and manufacturing because of economics, does anybody really care anymore? The new Sienna feels very “American.” Anybody who has been driving a U.S. brand

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Ford has gone to the dogs with pickup truck campaign

The message is simple: Dogs should never ride in the bed of a pickup truck. Why? According to the American Human Association (AHA), an estimated 100,000 dogs die each year riding in truck beds. As such, Ford and the AHA have teamed in a new pet safety campaign to remind pickup truck drivers that dogs should never ride in the bed of a pickup truck. Called “Dogs Ride Inside,” the campaign reminds all drivers that simple, basic actions can prevent serious injury or death while transporting a beloved family pet. “Unfortunately, we have all seen dogs riding in the bed of a pickup truck, which is an extremely dangerous way to transport your pet,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and

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Elon Musk channels Chevy Chase in pending Tesla trek

Elon Musk has never been shy about expressing his opinion or touting his iconic vehicle, the Tesla. Now the CEO of the high-performance electric sports car manufacturer will further promote his vehicles with a well-tested approach — leading by example. According to a recent report on CNNMoney.com, Musk has finalized the details of a six-day trip cross country car trip with his five sons at the end of 2013. “Just finalized the LA to NY family road trip route in Model S. 6 day, 3,200-mile journey with only nine hours spent charging,” Musk Tweeted in his trip announcement. Three months ago, Musk announced plans to drive across country to promote the Tesla and his expanding network of superchargers. “I’m planning

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Online bidding open for Nebraska barn find car auction

The live bidding for the Lambrecht Chevrolet Company Auction, the collection of approximately 500 “barn finds” from the long-tenured dealership in Pierce, Nebraska, will be held September 28-29. The collection of new and nearly new Chevrolets from the 1960s and survivor cars has generated international attention since the family who owned the dealership decided to sell the varied collection of vehicles. Some of the cars have remained untouched for 50 years. A substantial group of collectors and car enthusiasts are expected to gather in the small city for the weekend auction. But online bidding for the cars is currently available and is attracting some interesting bidding. And there are plenty of bargains. One example: A 1979 Chevrolet Impala 4-door sedan

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Consumer Reports: 11 Japanese cars best not to buy

Honda and Toyota make cars annually on best-of-the-year lists and perennially among the best-selling automobiles in history. Who’s to argue against the enduring success of the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry? But Consumer Reports knows plenty about cars and the respected publication has a a lot to write about Japanese cars it believes should be avoided. The Consumer Reports list is based on the company’s overall testing criteria the Japanese cars to avoid had total score below 60 and were given “F” grades. Here’s the list of the vehicles, each car’s total and comments why the vehicle is rated so poorly. Vehicle/Overall Road-Test Score/Problems 1. Scion IQ, 29, ride, noise, acceleration, steering, driving position, fit and finish, radio controls, blind

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Lexus LF-NX oddball concept hybrid gets world debut in Frankfurt Auto Show

The oddly named and odd-looking  LF-NX, a Lexus compact crossover hybrid concept, will make its world premiere at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. It will be powered by a new variant of the Lexus Hybrid Drive system tuned for SUV performance. With its distinctive and sculpted styling, the LF-NX concept’s exterior design reflects an evolution of Lexus’ L-finesse design language. The Frankfurt Auto Show begins Sept. 10 with media previews will be open to the public beginning Sept. 14. The LF-NX front is dominated by a strong interpretation of the Lexus spindle grille, expressive signature front lighting with independent Daytime Running Lights (DRL) and unique corner styling. It separates the bumper from the front wing with an aggressive vertical cut.

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Neil Young stalls, but still rocking on EV highway

Neil Young has long been known as a musical innovator. But the masterful singer and composer is also equally renowned to railroad buffs and electric car enthusiats. But even someone as accomplished as Young needs an assist from time to time, which is what the California Highway Patrol offered when the singer-songwriter and owner of a one-of-a-kind electric car got stuck on Interstate 80 near Donner Summit. According to a report in the Tahoe Daily Tribune newspaper, Young’s $1 million hybrid electric remastered 1959 Lincoln Continental broke down Aug. 23 while Young was en route to a Green Festival in Canada. Young, who has blogged for months about his adventures on the website lincvolt.com, drives the car to promote “green,”

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Prices set for refreshed 2014 Toyota Tacoma

Prices have been announced for the 2014 Toyota Tacoma, with the best-selling compact pickup truck in the United States available in dealerships during September 2013, according to the manufacturer. The MSRP for the 2014 Tacoma will range from $17,875 for the Regular Cab 4×2 with a four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission to $28,285 for the Double Cab 4×4 V6 Long Bed with a five-speed automatic.  The new pricing reflects an average increase of $100, or 0.4 percent. The 2014 Toyota Tacoma offers a new SR appearance package for 2014 with four levels of Entune Audio. In conjunction with the Entune upgrade, the backup camera display has been moved from the rear-view mirror to the Entune head unit display. The

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2014 Toyota 4Runner prices revealed, in dealers soon

Prices have been announced for the 2014 Toyota 4Runner and the popular mid-size SUV will begin arriving at dealerships in September 2013, according to the manufacturer. Currently in its fifth-generation, 4Runner continues as one of the few fully capable mid-size SUVs. The redesigned 2014 4Runner has a new exterior design and interior refinements that add comfort and convenience without sacrificing performance and value. The 4Runner combines body-on-frame construction with suspension technology that yields optimal off-road capability with a smooth ride and comfort more often associated with crossovers. The 2014 4Runner is available in three grades: a well-equipped, value-driven SR5; top-of-the-line Limited, and a Trail grade for those who want maximum off-road capability.  Optional third-row seats on SR5 and Limited allow

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